Metallic railway-tie.



J. J. WHITE.

METALLIC RAILWAY TIE.

APPLICATION IILBD KAY 11.1911.

Patented Au .22-,1911.

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JOSEPH J. WHITE, OF NEW LISBON, NEW JERSEY.

METALLIC RAILWAY-TIE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 22, 1911.

Application filed May 11, 1911. Serial No. 626,446.

To all whom itma'y concern:

Be it known that I, JOSEPH J. VVrirrn, a citizen of the United States,residing at New Lisbon, in the county of Burlington and 5 State of. NewJersey, have invented certain web containing a longitudinal slot, forthe purpose of combining strength and durability with resiliency.

Metallic cross-ties heretofore used and proposed have been objectionableby reason of their-rigidity, and efforts have been made to correct thisobjectionable characteristic by means such as weakening the structure ofthe ties directly beneath the rails but this is undesirable because theelasticity obtained 0 thereby is slight and the unsupported sectionsbetween the rails and slots tend to become permanently bent or set so asto destroy any elastic action otherwise due thereto by reason of theircharacter and location.

5 I avoid the defective characteristics of such prior arrangements byconstructing the ties so that they will spring at the center of bendingmovements, in the line of the center of support, midway between therails 3 which carry the load, whereby the desired elasticity is obtainedwithout weakening the structure of the ties beneath the rails where thegreatest strength is needed to withstand the crushing force.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of a metalliccross-tie embodying my invention in its unloaded position; Fig. 2 is aside elevation of the same in its loaded position; Fig. 3 is a sideelevation of the tie showing a second position of the slot with guardplates applied thereto, and Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional view takenthrough the center of the tie shown in Fig. 3.

i The tie shown in the drawing is an I- beam having the top flanges 1and the bottom flanges 1 connected by the web 2 which contains thelongitudinal median slot 3.

The slot has its terminals between the rails carried by the tie and isof suitable length and such depth as to produce the resiliency desired,the depth being such that it will close before the elastic llmit of themetal is reached whereby permanent distortion .is prevented.

As shown in Figs. 1 and 2 the slot is placed. at about one-third of thedepth of the web but it may be placed at difierent elevations as shownin Figs. 3 and 4:, where it is in the middle of the depth of the tie.Guards 5, suitably sheet metal plates, are preferably used to coverthese slots, for the purpose of preventing them from filling with dirtor other substance liable to prevent th'iem from closing under thebending stress to which they are subjected by the load, the plates beingheld in place by any suitable means as the bolts 6 passing through theirends and the ends of the slots.

It will be understood that when the rails are loaded the resultantforces to be considered are represented by the arrows shown in Fig. 2and that the tie is permitted to assume the cambered position shown inthis figure by the removal of the metal of the web due to forming theslot, the tie springing back to its normal position when relieved of theload.

Having described my invention I claim:

1. A tie comprising laterally extending top and bottom flanges connectedby a vertical web containing alongitudinal median slot adapted forfacilitating the bending only within the elastic limit of the material,substantially as specified.

2. A tie comprising top and bottom flanges connected by a web containinga longitudinal slot, said slot being disposed between said rails andhaving such depth that it will close before the metal is bent beyond itselastic limit, substantially as specified.

3. A tie comprising a metal shape having a web containing a slot adaptedfor rendering it resilient, in combination with means for preventingextraneous material from entering said slot and obstructing the InWitness whereof I have hereunto set bending of said tie. my name thisninth day of May, 1911, in 10 4. 13A tie comprisinig a netal sahgtpehawing the presence of the subscribing Witnesses. 5* I, a We containin as ot a apte or ren er- 5 ing said tie res i lient, in combination withJOSEPH WHITE I? guards comprising metal sheets, and bolts Witnesses:

passing through the ends of said slot and J. H. KELSEY, said sheets;THOMAS EARLY.

\ Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, byaddressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. G.

